Typically, flexible electronic components, such as flexible electronic displays (or simply “flexible displays”), are manufactured on a flat surface. As a result, when flexed or bent, flexible displays have a certain strain profile or distribution including a neutral line of zero strain. The outer radius of the display will be under tension, while the inner radius of the display will be under compression. At some location in the layer stack is the neutral plane (or neutral line in a two dimensional cross sectional representation) along which there is no tension or compression upon bending. If a curvature of bending a flexible display is too high, the strain in the display can cause certain brittle inorganic layers, or other layers in a stack of display components, to buckle or crack. Such buckling or cracking is intolerable for a retail product, or other application of a flexible display demanding reliability and consistent performance.
In many product applications, flexible electronic components need to have a mechanical support structure (a plastic sheet, thin metal sheet, or a more complex structure) that guides movement of the display during use. This movement guidance is necessary to prevent a user from bending the display beyond its minimum radius, bending the display in more than one direction, or causing defects in display. However, when a support structure is attached to a flexible display, the neutral plan of the resulting assembly is often shifted from its location in the flexible display. Such a shift can increase the minimum bending radius of the flexible display, and, as a result, flexible displays in practical product assemblies have limited flexibility (e.g., a minimum bending radius of 20 to 50 centimeters). Achieving supported flexing at a smaller bent radius (e.g., 0.3 to 10 centimeters) is problematic.